I'm back, and be ready for something I've been hinting at for a while now. ; )
Chapter 49-Do You Still Like Him?:
"Alright just around this bookshelf and…..Wow, G sure did find a lot of books ,"Alice said, as the group approached the table filled with several reasonably stacked piles of books, a few scrolls littered the table as well.
"G went into the back to get a couple more books ,"Garnet explained, she was already sitting at the table and watched as Varian picked up one of the books, reading the title.
"Volume twenty-three of 'The Life and Times of Lord Demanitus', you heard me, twenty-three. That's when it gets good !"Varian exclaimed, hugging the book to his chest.
The group watched at Varian's eyes scanned more of the book titles, eyes growing wide with excitement with each new book he saw. His smile grew as well as his excitement grew. Unrolling a scroll Varian's eyes lit up even more and he let out an excited gasp as his smile grew even bigger.
"Some of Lord Demanitus' research notes! This is incredible !"Varian exclaimed, his eyes scanning the parchment hungrily and Alice gave a smile giggle, before stepping up to her little brother.
"Maybe it would be better if you went with the girls and Garnet and waited outside, while I did the research ,"Alice said.
"DON'T TAKE THIS FROM ME !"Varian cried out in desperation, pleading eyes on his sister.
"Well, get translating then, we'll be here all day ,"Alice laughed, opening up a scroll and handing it to her brother.
Varian squealed in delight and sat down at the table, opening a book and beginning to read. Rapunzel and Eugene joined him, each opening a book. All of Alice's friends joined as well, Garnet already reading from one of the many volumes. Alice didn't sit down just yet, she quickly looked over the titles as well seeing if there was anything interesting.
"What are we even looking for ?"Eugene asked, as his eyes scanned the pages.
"Anything that could help us defeat Zhan Tiri, or the Moonstone for that matter. We need anything we can find that could help us ,"Alice told them.
Suddenly a young man, wearing a blue tunic, brown slacks, black boots, and a white coat, came out from around the corner. He held a stack of books in his hands and he struggled to keep his balance, the weight of the bag on his shoulder not helping as his thick dark brown, almost black, hair swayed as he walked.
"Woah !"he exclaimed, nearly dropping his books, he couldn't see where he was going and that's what worried everyone.
"Here, let me help you with those ,"Alice offered, taking a few of the books off of the man's stack.
"Thanks. Gadzooks, these are heavy ,"he said.
As his face was revealed, Alice released a small gasp. The man's face was kind and held a crocked smile, which immediately disappeared as he saw who was helping him, replaced with a look of surprise. Alice and the man stared at each other, his bright blue eyes staring at her black ones from behind his round glasses.(1)
"Monsieur Gary,"Alice said, shyly.
"Mademoiselle Allison ,"he replied back.
Alice broke the stare after a few seconds and turned towards the table. Both of them were silent for a few moments as Alice placed the books on the table, and he did the same, removing the books from his bag and placing them onto the stacks. The silence was so thick it could be cut with a knife.
"It….it's good to see you again Gary,"Alice said, her blush visible.
"You…..you as well...You look different…..good different…...beautiful different ,"Gary said, immediately cringing at his words.
"Thank you….It's nice to see that you, at least, haven't changed ,"Alice said, her blush deepening.
"Is that good ?"he asked.
"Well yes….So much has happened, with Ballora and Zhan Tiri and everything else….so it's nice to see some things are still how they were ,"Alice said.
"Yeah….good….great…...So ummmmm…..could I offer you ladies and gents some lemon tea….you know to go along with the study session ,"Gary offered.
"Lemon tea is my favorite ,"Alice said, looking over at him.
"Yeah….yeah I…...I remembered ,"Gary said, giving Alice a sheepish smile.
The two of them said nothing again. Everyone in the group looked at each other and shared knowing smiles. Just from seeing the blush on Alice's cheeks, it didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening. Seeing that neither of them were going to speak however, Varian looked over at the two of them and cleared his throat.
"Tea would be great, right sis ?"Varian asked and Alice shook her head, turning back to face her brother.
"Yes, tea would be great. By the way G, this is my brother, Varian ,"Alice said, opening a book and burying her face into it.
"Nice to meet you Varian, and of course you as well Princess Rapunzel and Captain Eugene….I'll a…...go….get that tea…...yeah….be right back ,"Gary said, rushing off before anyone could stop him.
"You still like him, don't you ?"Varian asked, already knowing the answer.
"M-maybe ,"Alice said, her blush still visible.
"Maybe ?"Natsuki questioned, raising a brow.
"Okay, yes ,"Alice mumbled under her breath.
"Alice, that's great news, he seems like a really nice guy ,"Rapunzel said.
"Alright fine…..back when I was little I had a huge crush on him….but it never went anywhere, he didn't have a clue I liked him ,"Alice said, hanging her head.
"He's blind Alice, absolutely blind, even with those glasses of his. You were as obvious of the sun itself and he was completely oblivious ,"Natsuki told her, rolling her eyes a little.
"When you look at him your pupils actually formed a little hearts! I don't know how that is physically possible, you changed your eyeballs (2)!"Monika exclaimed.
"I know…..that's why I…..kinda gave up on him after I left for Arendelle ,"Alice said, sadly.
"Yeah…...I think that's actually when he started to have a thing for you ,"Garnet said and everyone turned to look at her in surprise.
"He….he…..what ?"Alice asked, in surprise.
"He told me so himself…...he likes you Alice ,"Garnet told her and Alice was silent for a few moments before hanging her head.
"Well…...that's unfortunate timing ,"she said.
"Why, you like him, he likes you, when he gets back you two should make something happen ,"Eugene told her.
"I can't ,"Alice said, shaking her head.
"Why not Al. If this is about me or Dad, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you dated someone and I honestly don't care either ,"Varian told her.
"I know…..but we're about to go to war against Zhan Tiri. There's nothing to prove that I'll come back alive from the final battle and…..I don't want him waiting for me…only to find out that I'm never coming back…...He should be free to live his life, without someone like me ,"Alice said, turning her attention back to her book.
"And what's wrong with you ?"Monika asked.
"It's just…...I'm not good for him…..My priorities are always my family before anything else, my kingdom's safety before anything else and I don't want that to get in the way of my relationship… Gary is so smart and he was such a talented inventor when he was younger and probably still is ,"Alice started, looking to her friends for confirmation. When they nodded, Alice continued.
"G deserves a girl who will always be there for him, who will have time to listen to his adorable scientific ramblings; a girl who will not hesitate to help him in his lab and he deserves a girl who would be willing to sacrifice some things for him. He deserved a girl like that and so much more. My time has always been divided by protecting people and taking care of my family, I just…. Can't give him the time that he deserves. Also, after what happened with Ballora, I don't think I'm ready for…..that type of commitment ,"Alice explained.
"Wait, you and Ballora were- ?"Sayori started to ask.
"No, it was never like that. I saw our fusion as just us being roommates. Fusion can be seen romantically, but it wasn't that way for us. I just mean that I'm not ready to attach myself to another person, that's all ,"Alice explained.
"How do you know, if you don't try ?"Vaian asked.
Alice paused for a few moments, her eyes glued to the page in the book she was currently reading, then she let out a sigh and spoke again.
"I don't want him waiting for me if I'm destined to never come back from this battle ,"Alice said.
Varian opened his mouth again to try and talk her out of it, but Alice merely covered his mouth with her hand.
"Let not talk about this anymore, we're not here to talk about my love life, we're here to do research ,"Alice said, turning her complete attention back to her book.
Varian, seeing that Alice was done with the topic, sighed and continued reading, the rest of the group following shortly after. But they knew this wasn't the end of the discussion, not by a long shot.
Gary came back a few minutes later with a teapot filled with warm, lemon tea, and some cups. He set the tray down next to Alice, who muttered her thanks. Gary looked around the table, seeing each and every one of them absorbed in their reading. He pulled up a chair next to Alice, looking at what she was reading.
"Have you found anything ?"he asked.
"Nothing yet, how are things on your end Vary ?"Alice asked, not looking up from her book.
"Nothing that could help us, but when it comes to my own excitement I'm enjoying this way too much ,"Varian said, trying to hide his smile, he loved everything he was reading and found every detail in the research fascinating.
"Enjoy it all you like Vary, you deserve it ,"Alice told him.
"And you don't ?"Natsuki asked, looking up at her friend and raising a brow.
"I didn't say that ,"Alice said, looking at her friend with an annoyed glare.
"You didn't need to ,"Natsuki shot back.
"Ladies, ladies, let's just focus on the problem at hand and that problem is that demon ,"Gary said, filling up two cups of tea and handing them to the girls.
"You're right, thank you G. I just wish I had some way to keep track of a few things, notes that might seem insignificant but might help later ,"Alice said, gently sipping her tea.
"Well, ...if it helps, I've bought something for you ,"Gary said, turning towards his bag and digging through it.
As Gary looked through his bag, Garnet smiled at Alice and gave her a thumbs up as the woman blushed. Rapunzel and the other girls squealed silently and Eugene and Varian gave the keyblade master sly looks. Alice merely rolled her eyes at their antics but the blush on her face was still there.
"Stop it ,"Alice said, through gritted teeth.
"What was that ?"Gary asked, looking back at her.
"Oh, nothing, just a bug, a very annoying bug ,"Alice said, looking at her friends.
"Well, alright then…..Anyway, I thought you might need to write some stuff down, so I well, brought you these ,"Gary said, handing Alice a notebook, quill, and an inkwell.
"Gary…..isn't that your favorite quill ?"Alice asked, looking at the pen.
"Hmm, oh well yes…., it's alright, I know you'll take care of it. Besides, I've haven't used it in a while and if I know you, you'll put it through the works ,"Gary said and Alice smiled at him, turning back toward her book and starting to take notes.
"What do you mean by that ?"Eugene asked, raising a brow in interest.
"Oh well…..Alice was always an amazing writer back when we were students, as in non-keyblade wielding students, and Alice was always writing whenever she wasn't training ,"Gary explained.
"And I'm actually surprised she was as well rested as she was with all the writing she did ,"Monika said, flipping through the pages of her book.
"She couldn't be any worse then me ,"Varian said.
"Yeah, I think sometimes that I influenced you by accident, I was as bad as you when I was younger, if not worse ,"Alice said, still writing.
"How so ?"Rapunzel asked.
"Well…..there was this one class assignment where students got into groups of three and they had to write twenty-five essays over the course of nine weeks, the work distributed equally among the three group members. Alice just got lucky enough to be in a group with Sammy and Ballora ,"Gary started.
"Let me guess, Sammy placed all the work on the girls ,"Eugene said, crossing his arms.
"Actually no…..in the end, the three of them wrote eighty-five essays over the course of six weeks. Sammy got sick, actually sick not fact sick, after writing five…..Ballora wrote twenty-nine…..and well ,"Gary started.
"Wait….if I'm hearing this correctly, that means my sister wrote- ,"Varian started.
"Yes…...your sister wrote the other fifty-one essays (3)….Even now no one knows how she accomplished it ,"Gary said, watching Alice fondly as she was onto book three and was still writing like the wind.
Rapunzel, Eugene and Varian stared at Alice, she looked up at them and shrugged.
"I was so tired when we were finally done…..Still I enjoy writing and I did it a lot in my youth….Over time, I've learned to write quickly, but still neatly ,"Alice explained, still writing.
"Alice, I still don't understand how you do it. Write all the time with no stopping, even when your hand get's tired you don't stop…..How do you do it ?"Yuri asked, but Alice merely gave her a small smile and shrugged again.
"I honestly don't know myself, I just get a piece of parchment and a quill and before I know it hours have passed and I've written on over a hundred pieces of parchment ,"Alice told her, looking back at her book.
"You're determined in everything you do….it's honestly one of your most alluring features ,"Gary said, gently placing his hand on the one holding open the book.
The quill dropped from Alice's hand as she turned to face him, her face as red as a cherry. Everyone else turned to look at Gary as well, quiet a few of them surprised that such words had come out of his mouth. Gary immediately covered his mouth once he released what he had done, removing his hand from Alice's.
"S-sorry! Gadzooks….so stupid ,"he mutter, pouring himself a cup of tea.
Alice sighed and took a sip of tea herself. She looked over at Gary as he picked up her teacup and, with a still cherry red face, placed her hand over Gary's. This action caused the man to almost choke on his drink. He looked over at Alice, who just gave him a shy smile.
"I…..I don't think it's stupid…..it's really sweet, thank you ,"Alice said, going back to writing.
"I….you're welcome…...I really mean it ,"Gary told her.
"I know…..so you have a keyblade now ?"Alice asked.
"Ummm, yes. Honestly I'm surprised I even managed to make it as far as I did….I'm no diamond, just a simple peridot ,"Gary told her, flipping the pages of the book so that Alice could continue writing.
"You always were incredibly smart ,"Alice said.
"Yeah…...but….it's nothing really ,"Gary told her.
"Of course it is, you've worked hard for your awards and smarts your entire life, you should be proud of yourself ,"Alice said, giving him a smile.
"I…...I…...I am….. However, I have you to thank for that…..for always encouraging me to do my best…..so…..thanks for that...I really appreciate it ,"Gary told her.
"I know and you're welcome…..I would do it for anyone…..so….you have a girlfriend yet ?"Alice asked, not looking up at her crush.
"No…..no….I'm not seeing anyone. How about you ?"Gary asked.
"Still single….unless you count my fusion with Ballora, but I consider that like being a roommate, not a romantic relationship, although it can be that way for certain people ,"Alice said, giving Garnet a small smile.
She smiled back and indicated for her to continue, but Alice merely went back to writing. Everyone continued reading in an awkward silence. Rapunzel and the rest of the girls kept glancing over at Alice and Gary, who's eyes would occasionally dart away from the book to look at the other. However, when their eyes met they quickly turned their attention back to the page they were on. After a few minutes of this, Gary sighed and looked towards Alice one final time.
"Alice…...can I talk to you….alone, please ?"Gary asked, standing up from the table.
"Is it that important, because I really need to-,"Alice started.
"We can handle things from here sis….just a little more studying and I'm sure well know which books we really need and which one we can just takes notes from ,"Varian said, closing the book he was reading and placing it on the small pile of books that the group had decided to take with them.
"Oh…..okay…...Can you take over taking notes while I'm gone ,"Alice asked, tilting her head towards her book as she stood up.
"Of course and luckily I brought my own quill ,"Varian said, pulling out his quill and started to take some more notes.
"Okay, we'll be right back ,"Alice said, as Gary placed his quill inside of his bag.
He seemed to reach out to take Alice's hand. However, he stopped in the middle of the action, his hand falling to his side as he and Alice started to walk away from the group.
"Where do you think they're going ?"Rapunzel asked.
"Probably to go kiss somewhere ,"Eugene said, jokingly.
"Eugene ,"Rapunzel said, laughing a little.
"Okay I kid….but seriously Varian, are you okay with the fact that he might be interested in your sister ?"Eugene asked.
"I knew he liked her from the moment I met him…..and as long as Alice is happy, then it's fine...besides…..me and Dad have been noticing she seems rather….lonely lately, so maybe he could help with that ,"Varian said, looking off in the direction the two had gone.
"You're a very understanding little brother. Alice is lucky to have you ,"Yuri said.
"And I'm lucky to have her. Now let's get back to this research, if we make zero progress by the time Alice gets back, she'll have a fit ,"Varian said and everyone chuckled at that.
Sorry if this comes a little late in the story, however my hopeless romantic heart refused to let this story happen without a love connection for my OC. Besides, it lets me explore options for one-shot stories later in the future. That is, if any of you are interested in those. ; )
1: For all you Club Penguin fans, I'm pretty sure you can figure out who Gary is based off of.
2:A Phineas and Ferb reference because it just fits so perfectly right here.
3:Also a little bit from one of my favorite songs of Hamilton, because I can.
Either way have a great day, stay healthy, stay safe, stay happy. Don't forget to like if you enjoy, follow if you want to be kept up to date on when I upload next and leave a comment down below to tell me what you think. I'll see you all again next week. Bye! : )